First Baptist Church, circa 1918

Title: First Baptist Church, circa 1918
Description: "Organized in 1794 as the South Reading Branch of the Baptist Church of Woburn, and in 1798 as the Baptist Society in the First Parish, the First Baptist Church built its first meeting house on Salem Street in 1800. In 1820, the Meeting House was moved to a new location at the corner of Main and Crescent Streets. Fire destroyed the building in 1835, and a new, larger church was erected on the same site in 1837. The building was enlarged in 1853. On June 21, 1871, fire destroyed the second building, hastening the congregation's plans for a larger building. Ground was broken at the present site of the church on June 27, 1871 with the cornerstone laid on August 22nd. The building was completed and dedicated in December, 1872." -- Text from calendar by Jayne M. D'Onofrio.; Image from the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department annual calendar, 1997; Photo courtesy of the Wakefield Item Company.
Contributor: Institution: Lucius Beebe Memorial Library; Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department (Wakefield, Mass.); D'Onofrio, Jayne M.
Coverage: Massachusetts--Middlesex (county)--Wakefield
Date: ca. 1918
Format: image/jpeg
Publisher: [Wakefield, Mass.] : Wakefield Municipal Gas & Light Department
Subject: Church buildings; Church history; First Baptist Church (Wakefield, Mass.)
Type: still image; Photographs
Original Format: 1 picture : b&w
Extent: 24 x 16 cm.